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Dec 6, 2024 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Thompson Chau
TAINAN -- Taiwan President Lai Ching-te on Friday was concluding the first overseas trip of his term, which took him to the three Pacific island states that still recognize Taipei and raised concerns that China could retaliate with another round of war games. The tour of the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau, with stops in the U.S. territories of Hawaii and Guam, already brought condemnations from Beijing, which seeks to quash any diplomatic engagement with Taipei.
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Nov 21, 2024 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Thompson Chau
TAIPEI -- The Kuomintang's "Blue Sky with a White Sun" flags outside its head office in Taipei echo the flag of the Republic of China itself, in a reminder of how the organization was once synonymous with power in Taiwan. The gray building, however, is a noticeable downgrade from the KMT's home until 2006 -- an imposing structure opposite the presidential palace that was sold under a cloud of controversy over ill-gotten assets during the party's authoritarian rule.
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Nov 21, 2024 | 
ft.com | Lauly Li |Cheng Ting-Fang |Eleanor Olcott |Shunsuke Tabeta |Thompson Chau
Hi everyone, this is Lauly, sending greetings from rainy and windy Taipei.
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Nov 8, 2024 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Thompson Chau
TAIPEI -- Taiwan is expected to face heavy pressure to strengthen its defense and decouple supply chains from neighboring China after Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election this week. How Trump will engage with Taiwan is one of the most consequential questions over his second presidency.
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Oct 25, 2024 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Thompson Chau
TAIPEI -- Taiwan's top court ruled Friday that key provisions in a controversial bill to grant sweeping powers to the legislature at the expense of the presidency were unconstitutional, marking a crushing setback for the opposition's showdown with the government.
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Sep 30, 2024 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Thompson Chau
TAIPEI -- Taiwan belongs to a Chinese nation and should seek a peaceful political union with "the mainland," an influential opposition lawmaker said in an interview. "We are Chinese," said Weng Hsiao-ling, a Kuomintang (KMT) lawmaker nicknamed "Goddess of War" for her willingness to confront opponents. "The Republic of China was established before the People's Republic of China. Why did the People's Republic of China say that they are called New China? [That's because] we are Classic China."
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Sep 27, 2024 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Thompson Chau
TAIPEI -- Taiwan's opposition faces a crucial test over a parliament motion mirroring recent international statements denying China's interpretation of a historic United Nations resolution. Some hope the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) will come around to back the motion proposed by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, which rejects Beijing's view of U.N. Resolution 2758.
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Sep 25, 2024 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Thompson Chau
TAIPEI -- Taiwan's new president should adopt a less muscular posture toward China, a report from International Crisis Group advises, even if doing so is unlikely to soften Beijing's own hawkish stance. The report, released Thursday and titled "The Widening Schism Across the Taiwan Strait," says that President Lai Ching-te has pursued "a different approach" toward China than predecessor Tsai Ing-wen, although they hail from the same pro-sovereignty Democratic Progressive Party.
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Sep 20, 2024 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Thompson Chau
TAIPEI -- Taiwan's top court on Friday ruled to heavily restrict the death penalty but did not ban it, in a closely watched decision made amid pressure from the conservative opposition against changes. The court found that mandatory death sentences are unconstitutional, and that use of the penalty should be limited to murder cases.
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Sep 18, 2024 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Thompson Chau
TAIPEI -- A senior executive at one of Taiwan's top industrial conglomerates has been barred from leaving China, heightening concerns about the risks of traveling there amid tense cross-strait relations. The unidentified Formosa Plastics Group official at was questioned after landing in Shanghai via a flight from Taipei on Sept. 1, according to local media. The Taiwanese government confirmed the incident but declined to comment further, citing the individual's safety.
